87 Ashley Road Eviction Happening NOW!!

by groundlevel Wed Nov 12, 2008 13:44

More people are on the roof, about 6 or 7 now. sizeable crowd on the street. MORE are needed, police will be departing the scene and private security will take control. get down and witness if you can!

by ether Wed Nov 12, 2008 15:08

offices or 'social housing' put in place by a company that has shown time and again it doesnt work for its supposed aims as a housing association and instead works for the bonuses and salleries of those that run it... a company that refuses to state that it doesnt just want to turn the property into private apartments to sell at a profit anyway.

Either way they still have my support and i'll be down there after work if at all possible.

taking a building from the community so it can be sold back to it isn't very social...

by walker Wed Nov 12, 2008 15:27

the information was supplied by a representative of places for people, not the bailiff.

by Bert Wed Nov 12, 2008 15:29

I've just been past, didn't see any members of the 'community' around, just police, bailiffs & a few trustafarians,

...... so obviously the spontaneous uprising of St Pauls residents in support of the brave & noble squatters who are protecting them from the ravages of having social housing foisted on them hasn't happened yet....

by Leaker Wed Nov 12, 2008 16:22

Letter sent to all P4P tenants in St. Pauls:

Places for People.
South West.
1 – 3 Surrey Street.
St. Paul’s.
Bristol. BS28PS.
10th. October 2008.

Dear Customer.
TRESPASSING - Together we can solve the problem.
I am writing to all of our customers and stakeholders in the St. Paul’s neighbourhood in order to raise awareness of the recent negative effect that trespassers are having on the service we provide you.

Trespassers who are often referred to as ‘squatters’, illegally enter our properties whilst it is empty and claim rights to occupy the property. These illegal trespassers have no right to occupy the premises and Places for People is unable to obtain rent or improve the premises whilst they are living at the property. As a social landlord we intend to provide a range of housing options for the community. This illegal occupation causes us significant delays and difficulties in trying to achieve this.

Trespassing affects local residents of St. Pauls in the following ways:-
Those who apply fairly via the Bristol Housing register are forced to wait longer for the properties to become available. This is often homeless families who are in temporary accommodation. It is often a lengthy and costly process for a landlord to regain possession of the property and we have to apply to the courts.

St. Paul’s has a sever lack of available larger family accommodation. Places for People intend to improve the situation by converting some of our stock into 4 and 5 bedroom properties. However, when people trespass, this severely slows down the development work and prevents us from arranging for our contractors to begin refurbishment.
We would welcome your help by ensuring that any sightings of illegal trespassers in our properties are reported to your housing officer as quickly as possible. This will allow us to ensure we make contact with the trespassers immediately and take action where necessary.
In summary, where a landlord is actively trying to carry out work on empty properties in order to provide affordable accommodation for people who have been identified as having a recognized need by the local authority, trespassers or ‘squatters’ cannot be tolerated in our neighbourhood’s. Possession proceedings by landlords are a time consuming and costly process. We encourage residents to work with us to prevent this problem.

Yours sincerely.

Luke Takeuchi.
Housing services Manager.
Places for People.

by Badoni Wed Nov 12, 2008 16:39

Everyone still on the roof now. Baliffs and builders are taking the place apart from the inside. Baths, fittings etc are being removed and dumped in the garden.
Support still needed.
Come down.

by eye witness Wed Nov 12, 2008 17:10

Since they entered at 10am contractors have been trashing the inside of 87 Ashley Rd to make it inhabitable, taking out utilities and smashing it up. We know about office plans direct from People for Places rep who spoke to the people on the roof, not a bailiff. He said their plans are to make this 8 flat building in a site office in April 2009. That's another 5 months of it standing empty to add to the 4 years already, while it could be providing homes to the 15 odd people who were living there, keeping it used and useful.
People are resisting this eviction not only because they need a house but for many other reasons. One is that we believe that P4P are not fit for purpose for being social landlords. People passing in the street have told us stories of months or even years waiting for basic maintenance and security measures. The same rep talking to those on the roof admitted that he was ignorant of St Paul's UnLtd's objections to their plans for 87 Ashley Road. He had not even read the minutes. Some in St Paul's UnLtd objected to their plans because of concerns that they did not provide enough social/affordable housing.

This morning P4P's Luke Tekouchi has put out a letter to local residents with a load of spin about how trespassers are preventing them from housing those in need. If this is the case why have they not done something with the building before and why are there no planning applications for them to renovate the building?Shared ownership = sell off of social housing. P4P are more interested in making money in the short term.

Tying people into 30+ years of a mortgage, (let's not forget it comes from the word meaning Death Grip) IS NOT a solution to the housing problem. Look at the ramifications of a society built on a debt bubble in the collapse of the sub prime mortgage crisis in the US. And look at the predicted figures of thousands who face repossessions in the coming financial depression in the UK.

Squatting is one way of breaking out of this dead end cycle. And the people who are taking direct action to claim their right for somewhere to live think that's better in so many ways than waiting around on a housing list.

More info to follow, supporters and those on the roof intend to stay and all are welcome to come down and show support.

by Heather Wed Nov 12, 2008 19:01

My name is Heather and I'm a journalist in London. Can anyone who is watching what is going on or involved in what is going on contact me? My email address is Heath0183@aol.com.

by Frazzle Mon Jan 12, 2009 10:17 frankmg at peacemail dot com

do we know the result of these events?
is the building still occupied?
are the squatters beginning to rebuild it?
are they distributing information to the community about the unethical practices of P4P?
are they organising a petition or something to show the council how bad P4P really is?
wazzzzzup?

by All over Mon Jan 12, 2009 12:20

They arranged a public meeting wit P4P and then came down AFAIK